KORUN-KOŽELJSKI Fran

KORUN-KOŽELJSKI Fran (also known as Fran Korun, nickname Koželjski; 22 December 1868, Velenje – 1 December 1935, Celje) was a Slovenian composer, musician, pedagogue and choral conductor. He was born in Velenje, where he attended primary school. He continued his education at the civic school in Krško and the commercial school in Trieste. In music he was initially self-taught; later he studied in Vienna, where he also passed the military examination for bandmaster. He worked as a choral conductor with various singing societies and as bandmaster of the newly founded National Band in Celje (for approximately ten years). At the same time he was engaged in commerce – he served as secretary of the South Styrian Savings Bank in Celje. He collected folk songs.

He is important as a pedagogue: he wrote the first Slovenian zither school (Poduk v igranju na citrah, I–IV, 1907) and the first Slovenian violin school (Violinska šola ali pouk v igranju na goslih, 1910 and subsequent volumes). In this way he made it possible to learn these instruments in the Slovenian language. He composed mainly choral music (male and mixed choirs a cappella or with piano), solo songs, piano pieces, zither compositions, dances (Venec slov. plesov for piano), albums of songs for violin and piano, and instrumental works for string and wind orchestra. Among his manuscripts there are also singspiels (e.g. Mlada Zora).

The Fran Korun Koželjski Music School in Velenje, one of the older and more respected Slovenian music schools, is named after him.